Democratic Renewal

To reverse the hollowing out of democracy, Canada must restore faith in the system and renew public engagement in the political process. This means reforming democratic institutions so that they are open, accountable and responsive. It means restoring honest, rigorous policy debate, advocating for more formal representation of women and minority groups, and challenging the retreat of government from investing in our communities.

British Columbia will be voting this fall on whether to adopt an electoral system based on proportional representation (ProRep). An Electoral System for All details BC's history of false majorities under a first-past-the-post system and lays out an evidence-based case for why ProRep can lead us to a more inclusive and... Read more

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This groundbreaking report maps out the strategies and practices that lie behind today’s most successful advocacy campaigns both in Canada and abroad. In the process, it demonstrates how and why they succeed in creating lasting change on the issues they address while so many others fail. Based on a study... Read more

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Download the full report here: Reflections on the Social Democratic Tradition Reader's Guide The purpose of Reflections on the Social Democratic Tradition is to provide a political history, overview and critical evaluation of the social democratic tradition in Western politics - and in Canada in particular - in this moment... Read more

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The landmark survey commissioned by the Broadbent Institute is the first study of its kind and size to measure Canadians’ attitudes about voting system design and preference for electoral reform. The research, conducted by Abacus Data, found Canadians want the new government to keep its promise to change the voting system... Read more

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It's time to bring clarity to the current rules regulating political activity of charities. This brief to the federal government, part of the Canada Revenue Agency's online consultation, proposes a way to do that, as well as highlights how the biased scrutiny and targeted auditing of certain types of charities... Read more

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The Broadbent Institute, a leading voice for proportional representation in Canada, submitted a written brief to the special parliamentary on electoral reform. Read about the endemic problems with our first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system in a modern, multiparty context - notably, false majorities, distorted outcomes, wasted votes and the underrepresentation of... Read more

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Workplace democracy speaks to an ever-present need to advance the fundamental rights of employees to associate freely and to have some say over business decisions that affect their lives. It also speaks to the need to respect the expertise that employees develop day in and day out on the job... Read more

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Democracy in Canada is at a critical juncture. The Liberal government has committed to moving beyond our firstpast-the-post (FPTP) electoral system and replacing it with something better suited to democracy in the 21st century. In fact, during the 2015 election, the Liberal Party promised that it would be the last... Read more

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Right-leaning charities continue to report zero "political" activity to the Canada Revenue Agency while engaging in work that appears to meet the agency's definition. The new survey of 2014 tax filings raises fresh questions about the agency’s political-activity auditing program.
Download Right-leaning charities continue to claim 0% political activity to CRA Read more

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Canadian millennials have little confidence in politicians and are even more jaded than their American counterparts are about whether they care about young people's views or are interested in taking action on youth priorities, according to a pioneering comparative survey. Read the new Broadbent Institute report. Published in partnership with the Foundation for European... Read more

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More young Canadians back a progressive agenda than older Canadians, according to a new study of massive dataset of over 8,000 Canadians. So could a progressive platform capture Canada's youth vote?
Read the new report authored by University of Sasketchewan political scientist David McGrane.
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There's mounting evidence suggesting that CRA political-activity audits are being used as a politicized tool to exert pressure on critics of the government. This report examines publicly available CRA tax filings of 10 right-leaning charities and cross-referenced these with their publicly available work. The results are revealing. Download Stephen Harper's CRA... Read more

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As evidenced by the recent re-election of U.S. President Barack Obama, progressive values – including respect for equality, sustainability, and justice – are gaining traction around the world. A new poll commissioned by the Broadbent Institute and conducted by Environics Research Group in April 2013 demonstrates that urban/suburban Canadian attitudes... Read more

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"Tom Kent made an invaluable contribution to the Canada, with a major role in crafting and promoting social policies like the Canada Pension Plan and medicare. Whatever his political affiliations were during parts of his career, Tom Kent was above all else a social democrat. I came to know... Read more

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